Final score: Indiana State 56 Bradley 54

[lefty]

yeah- Indiana State played a horrible game and tried at every opportunity to hand us that game but we kept handing it back..

I hope our guys sit and watch video for 8 hours a day of that 2nd half...
watch & watch and notice how many bad mistakes we made and how many times we repeat the same mistakes...
-repeatedly try to lob to Koch Bar - not one such attempt led to a basket and almost all of them led to turnovers
-hurry FT's and miss half of them
-we were 6-9 on 3-pointers in the 1st half, that was a key part of how we got a decent lead, then in the 2nd half we didn't even attempt another one for 6 minutes and only one in the 1st 10 min of the 2nd half
-we had a big rebounding lead in the 1st half then got sluggish and lost that in the 2nd half

Other than one I can remember though was Bar's fault.....several were good passes but Bar can't seem to handle them(turnover) or he missed the shots....

again normally a player like Bar is a redshirt....we don't have that luxury

[lefty]

SAD-SAD-SAD....I kept waiting for BW to inspire, energize, or motivate his team but he simply couldn't do it. Most coaches would show some anger and/or bark at the team in time outs but not BW. Our guys play half asleep.
Again, something is dreadfully wrong and Chris R. needs to step in and do something.
Also, the two high school recruits from St. Louis scored 9 and 12 points respectively in their last game. How in the world are they going to be good enough to make a difference at Bradley?
Wizard

What should Reynolds do though Wiz?

[Chico]

SAD-SAD-SAD....I kept waiting for BW to inspire, energize, or motivate his team but he simply couldn't do it. Most coaches would show some anger and/or bark at the team in time outs but not BW. Our guys play half asleep.
Again, something is dreadfully wrong and Chris R. needs to step in and do something.
Also, the two high school recruits from St. Louis scored 9 and 12 points respectively in their last game. How in the world are they going to be good enough to make a difference at Bradley?
Wizard

Yeah, BW has to start making those layups and free throws.

[wizard1]

Final Score: Ind. St. 56-BU 54

Lefty.....I'm certain he already knows what the problems are. They have been articulated on this board for many, many weeks this season.
IMO, he needs to sit down w/ BW and conduct a detailed review of these. He should then put BW on "probation" for one more year. He should establish a set of minimum goals or targets for the coming season. Then, if these are not achieved or if there is no significant improvement, replace him and his staff.
Wizard

[jtim1152]

Arrrggghhh!!!!!

Been waiting patiently like everyone else, carrying a positive outlook into the Wardle era......Been telling everyone I know that this guy is "The real deal". As the first 1.75 seasons have progressed and unfolded, we have occasionally seen budding signs of life, but those seem to consistently get trampled by poor execution. Last night was indeed poor execution on the players part, but I observed a real failure from the bench...seen it before but not as glaring and not as impactful as last night......REALLY-- - in the first 3 minutes you build a 10 point lead with 5 young men who are playing as hard as any in recent memory and BEFORE the first media timeout the substitution begins?? From that point on the chemistry and flow began the downward spiral. Now I am not suggesting that subs not occur, but for goodness sake, can we just let these games get some semblance of flow and chemistry build up. The combination of players on the floor last night was mind boggling......I get it that when things are failing you search for combos that might bring some life to the party....but the party was in full force last night and he blew out their candles. This basketball program is in a 10 year freefall and I see no parachute, no wings, no saving it with the people and processes and execution we have in place now. I am tired of waiting for signs of improvement......I mean BIG SIGNS of improvement,,,, we now have a roster of Sophs and Jrs on this team who for the most part and I can't see this group getting SIGNIFICANTLY better in 1-2 years so WHAT GIVES!!

[Vent]

Over substituting has become a staple of college basketball. I get so tired of coaches saying the players get tired. All the coaches get caught up in player rotation. To me, that's a bunch of malarkey. If players nowadays get so tired, how could they have played the game 25 years ago or more? Back then they didn't get an official media timeout every four minutes. You sucked it up and played the game. Too many games are lost by breaking momentum because you have to stick to your rotation.

[DeanMartin]

Been waiting patiently like everyone else, carrying a positive outlook into the Wardle era......Been telling everyone I know that this guy is "The real deal". As the first 1.75 seasons have progressed and unfolded, we have occasionally seen budding signs of life, but those seem to consistently get trampled by poor execution. Last night was indeed poor execution on the players part, but I observed a real failure from the bench...seen it before but not as glaring and not as impactful as last night......REALLY-- - in the first 3 minutes you build a 10 point lead with 5 young men who are playing as hard as any in recent memory and BEFORE the first media timeout the substitution begins?? From that point on the chemistry and flow began the downward spiral. Now I am not suggesting that subs not occur, but for goodness sake, can we just let these games get some semblance of flow and chemistry build up. The combination of players on the floor last night was mind boggling......I get it that when things are failing you search for combos that might bring some life to the party....but the party was in full force last night and he blew out their candles. This basketball program is in a 10 year freefall and I see no parachute, no wings, no saving it with the people and processes and execution we have in place now. I am tired of waiting for signs of improvement......I mean BIG SIGNS of improvement,,,, we now have a roster of Sophs and Jrs on this team who for the most part and I can't see this group getting SIGNIFICANTLY better in 1-2 years so WHAT GIVES!!

I tried to give support last season, and had hope coming into to this season, as I truly expected Donte, Luke, Antoine, Ronnie, Callum, Dwayne would all be significantly improved players from a year ago, plus they would be experienced sophomores in the MVC. Not one of these guys are better than they were a year ago, as a matter of fact, each one has taken a step backward and most several steps backward. Now I'm definitely no genius, but that to me is a tell tale sign that we have the wrong head coach for trying to get a rebuild done through recruiting high school players (he can't develop)!!! I am hearing some serious grumblings coming from many of the players that there is a major disconnect between the head coach and the players. Let's face it, he lost this group of players / team.

He can complain and blame these players til the cows come home for failed execution, lack of leadership, etc..... Guess what? He recruited them, he offered them, he signed them, he's been teaching and coaching them. No excuses as far as I'm concerned. I'm tired of the broken record!

[Buesch N Chips]

Last night we subbed after less than a minute had elapsed in the second half.

[tornado]

Not to excuse our bad play but...I think the vast majority of Bradley fans are reluctant to play the blame game or dump Brian Wardle yet...

note...the attendance was 5000 last night
SIX years ago (2/12/11) a comparable home game- the attendance was 10,000
TWO years ago (1/13/15) a comparable home game was 5129

so...as bad as we've been the past two years, we've lost virtually no more fans...
the huge drop in attendance all happened between 2011-2015.
That's where the blame laid then, and that's where the blame lies even now.

Oh, and the guy we fired in 2011? He's remarkably re-built a previously obscure and non-existent DI program into a winner...
UC-Davis is on the verge of their 2nd league championship in the past 3 seasons, they are undefeated at home this year, and they have
won 9 of their last 11 games, plus - their attendance has doubled and they draw occasional crowds
that are four times their long time average before he got there. And we also sent a 2-time AD of the Year packing that has also built his entire
athletic department into a nationally recognized consistent winner in every sport.

I think Dr. Reynolds and Brian Wardle can get us where we need to be- but they are starting from an unfathomable abyss that was left behind by Glasser & Cross.

[lefty]

Lefty.....I'm certain he already knows what the problems are. They have been articulated on this board for many, many weeks this season.
IMO, he needs to sit down w/ BW and conduct a detailed review of these. He should then put BW on "probation" for one more year. He should establish a set of minimum goals or targets for the coming season. Then, if these are not achieved or if there is no significant improvement, replace him and his staff.
Wizard

My guess they have done that already...before the hire and again after last year....and unless some kind of NCAA violation or something really crazy there is no way Reynolds does anything after year 3....and he shouldn't.


I understand we are all frustrated but again this is a total rebuild.....it's a JV team going against varsity teams right now....you have to go at least 4 years to see the progress

[lefty]

Yeah, BW has to start making those layups and free throws.

Right.....Indiana State guarded the perimeter forcing us to drive.....you either have to make the shots or the ft's....we didn't do either

[AZ BU Fan]

Any questions as to why we can't get a good television package?

Because the product STINKS.... Who would want to sponsor the TV package, and, who would want to pay to watch this?

[bradleyfan124]

Yeah, BW has to start making those layups and free throws.

I have a tendency to look at the little things. Here is something that always bothers me..During warmups I expect the players to practice the shots they will use in games.. Instead a part of the time the players ( Bar included) dunk the ball..Looks great! ohhhh and ahhhhh.. but when it comes to game time Bar or any of the other players are not dunking the ball the majority of the time.They are trying to shoot short shots then they wonder why they dont go in. Just an observation

[AZ BU Fan]

Lack of Talent at BU

Unfortunately two BU signees for next season aren't exactly dominating at their high school games....

Right now, BU is tuck in chicken and egg argument.... Desperate for quality players, but so bad it's hard to get quality players to commit to help turn around.

How hard can it be to coach lay ups and FT's? These guys can't be that bad. Was ANYONE recruiting them besides BU when Wardle signed them at Bradley?

[LittleBrave]

This was one of the top 3 WORST second-half performances I've witnessed in my life!
Shame on Bradley for their horrid performance - inexcusable. Embarrassing.
I have been patient up until this point, but I can't believe we're playing like this - at this juncture in the season, and this far into Wardle's tenure.

Nothing good about last night.
Sorry guys - just got done watching the replay on ESPN3.